Footrest assembly for a massage chair

ABSTRACT

A footrest assembly for a massage chair comprises a pivotal seat, a connecting seat, a stretchable rack, a connecting rod assembly and a motor assembly. A screw shaft is mounted on the connecting seat, and a drive block is screwed on the screw shaft. A first rail is mounted between the pivotal seat and the connecting seat. A second rail is mounted between the connecting seat and the stretchable rack, the connecting rod assembly is disposed between the pivotal seat and the stretchable rack, and the drive block drives the connecting rod assembly to move forward or backward. The motor assembly comprises a motor and a gear set and serves to rotate the screw shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a massage chair, and more particularly to a footrest assembly for a massage chair.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There are many advanced massage chairs with stretchable footrest available on the market, and most of which are provided with a footrest that is connected pivotally to the front end thereof, on the footrest are disposed in sequence a plurality of diamond-shaped connecting rods that are used to drive a plurality of massage cushion. However, these conventional massage chairs are structurally complicated and high cost. Besides, the existing massage chairs are normally provided with a footrest for supporting the heel, but the existing footrests are mostly L-shaped and unadjustable.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a low-cost and simple structured footrest assembly for a massage chair, wherein the pivotal seat, the connecting seat and the stretchable rack are slideably connected to one another, a motor assembly is mounted on the pivotal seat for controlling the motion of the connecting seat, the connecting rod assembly is disposed between the stretchable rack and the pivotal seat, the connecting seat drives the connecting rod assembly to move and then the connecting rod assembly moves the stretchable rack.

The secondary objective of the present invention is to provide footrest assembly for a massage chair that can be adjusted easily to massage different portions of the user's lower limbs, wherein the stretchable rack is provided with a plurality of mounting members through which the stretchable rack is pivoted to the footrest rack, and between the stretchable rack and the footrest rack is arranged a spring. The mounting members each is defined with a positioning device through which the footrest rack is positioned.

The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a part of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an assembly view of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention (the footrest assembly is stretching out);

FIG. 4 is a top view of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention (the footrest assembly withdraws);

FIG. 5 is another top view of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention (the footrest assembly is stretching out);

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention (the footrest assembly withdraws);

FIG. 7 is front view of the footrest assembly for a massage chair in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows that the footrest rack is adjusted to a vertical position;

FIG. 9 shows that the footrest rack is withdrawn;

FIG. 10 shows that the footrest rack is stretching out.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a footrest assembly for a massage chair D in accordance with the present invention comprises a footrest rack 10, a pivotal seat 20, a connecting seat 30, a stretchable rack 40, a connecting rod assembly 50 and a motor assembly 60. The footrest rack 10 is disposed in the stretchable rack 40.

The pivotal seat 20 has two opposite pivotal portions 21 pivotally connected to the front end of the massage chair and has a first rail 22 arranged in a direction of the leg of the user. Beneath the pivotal seat 20 is a bolt mounting member 23. The pivotal seat 20 is provided with a pivotal member 24 that is located in a stretching direction of the massage chair. At the center of the pivotal seat 20 is arranged a screw shaft 25, and both ends of the screw shaft 25 are mounted to the bolt mounting member 23. A drive block 26 is formed with inner threads and is screwed on the screw shaft 25.

The connecting seat 30 is slideably mounted on the first rail 22, at the center of the connector seat 30 is arranged a push rod 31 that has a lateral shaft 311 arranged at the front end thereof, and the connecting seat 30 is provided with a second rail 32 that is located in a direction of the user's leg. The connecting seat 30 is connected to an end of the drive block 26 of the pivotal seat 20.

The stretchable rack 40 is slideably mounted on the second rail 32 of the connecting seat 30, and on the stretchable rack 40 are mounted massaging device (not shown). At the front end of the stretchable rack 40 are arranged two opposite mounting members 41 each of which is defined with a pivotal hole 411. At either side of the pivotal hole 411 are formed a first positioning protrusion 412 and a second positioning protrusion 413 that form an angle relative to the respective mounting members 41, and adjacent to the first positioning protrusion 412 is arranged a first spring-mounting member 414.

The footrest rack 10 is provided at an end thereof with two pivotal arms 11 each having a pivotal hole 111 through which a fastener 13 pivotally secures the pivotal arms 11 to the pivotal hole 411 of the mounting members 41 of the stretchable rack 40. The pivotal arms 11 are confined in the space between the first positioning protrusion 412 and the second positioning protrusion 413 of the mounting members 41. The pivotal arms 11 are provided with a second spring-mounting member 112. Between the first spring-mounting member 414 of the stretchable rack 40 and the second spring-mounting member 112 of the footrest rack 10 is biased a spring 12.

The connecting rod assembly 50 comprises a pin 53, and a driven rod 51 pivotally connected with a leading rod 52. An end 521 of the leading rod 52 is pivoted to the front end of the stretchable rack 40, and another end 511 of the driven rod 51 is pivoted to the pivotal member 24 of the pivotal seat 20. On the driven rod 51 is formed a slot 512 for insertion of the lateral shaft 311 of the push rod 31 of the pivotal seat 30.

The motor assembly 60 comprises a motor 61 and a gear set 62 and is mounted on a massage chair. The motor assembly 60 drives the gear set 62 to move, and the screw shaft 25 serves to move the drive block 26.

A plurality of massage members 70 are mounted on the footrest rack 10 and the stretchable rack 40 for massaging the user's lower limbs.

For a better understanding of the present invention, its operation and function, references should be made particularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein the footrest is mounted to the front end of the massage chair D, the user should control the feed amount of the motor assembly 60 according to needs. Due to the motor assembly 60 is mounted to the massage chair, the gear set 62 is rotated by the motor 61, and the rotation of the gear set 62 will be transmitted to the drive block 26 of the pivotal seat 20, plus the connecting seat 30 is connected to the drive block 26 of the pivotal seat 20, the connecting 30 will be moved together with the driven block 26 by the rotation of the screw shaft 25.

In this situation, the connecting seat 30 will slide outward along the first rail 22 of the pivotal seat 20, and the push rod 31 and the lateral shaft 311 thereof will move synchronously with the connecting seat 30. Due to the lateral shaft 311 is confined in the slot 512 of the driven rod 51, the driven rod 51 will swing under the effect of the lateral shaft 311 and the pivotal member 24 of the pivotal seat 20, and the leading rod 52 will swing synchronously with the driven rod 51. By such arrangements, the movement of the lateral shaft 311 will effect a stretch or withdrawal of the connecting rod assembly 50.

When the connecting rod assembly 50 stretches out, the leading rod 52 will make the stretchable rack 40 stretch out synchronously with the connecting rod assembly 50, and the stretchable rack 40 will move stably under the help of the second rail 32 of the connecting seat 30.

By controlling the feed amount of the motor assembly 60, a small travel distance of the screw shaft 25 can be amplified and turned into a large travel of the connecting rod assembly 50, therefore, the footrest of the present invention is space saving and easily operated, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

On the other hand, the first rail 22 is arranged on the pivotal seat 20 and located in a direction of the leg of the user, and the connecting seat 30 is slidebly received in the first rail 22, plus the connecting seat 30 is also provided with a second rail 32 located in a direction of the user's leg, and the stretchable rack 40 is moveably received in the second rail 32 of the connecting seat 30. Therefore, the pivotal seat 20, the connecting seat 30 and the stretchable rack 40 can move stably under the guidance of the first and second rails 22 and 32.

It will be noted that the aforementioned particular functions of the present invention are achieved by the combination of the two following structures:

1. a small travel distance of the screw shaft 25 can be amplified and turned into a large travel of the connecting rod assembly 50.

2. under the guidance of the first and second rails 22 and 32, the pivotal seat 20, the connecting seat 30 and the stretchable rack 40 move stably.

Therefore, it should be clear that any further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, such as the technology of arranging different massage devices on the stretchable rack 40.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 8-10, the footrest rack 10 is provided at an end thereof with two pivotal arms 11 that are secured to the pivotal hole 411 of the mounting members 41 of the stretchable rack 40. The pivotal arms 11 are confined in the space between the first positioning protrusion 412 and the second positioning protrusion 413 of the mounting members 41.

When the stretchable rack 40 stretches out, the footrest rack 10 will rotate to a position perpendicular to the stretchable rack 40 under the effect of the spring 12, so that the user's feet can be massaged by the massage members 70 on the footrest rack 10, and the massage members 70 on the stretchable rack 40 can massage the user's legs.

When the stretchable rack 40 withdraws, the footrest rack 10 will be stopped by the user's feet, at this moment, the user doesn't need to move his feet since the springs 12 will make the pivotal arms 11 of the footrest rack 10 rotate upward to the horizontal position, so that the user's ankle can be massaged by the massage members 70 on the footrest rack 10.

By changing the travel length of the stretchable rack 40, the massage members 70 on the footrest rack 10 and the stretchable rack 40 can be adjusted to massage different portions of the user's lower limbs.

With the pivotal arms 11 and the springs 12, the footrest rack 10 can be adjusted automatically to massage different portions of the user's lower limbs without moving the user's lower limbs, therefore, the present invention really provides an improved massage effect.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. A footrest assembly for a massage chair comprising a pivotal seat, a connecting seat, a stretchable rack, a connecting rod assembly and a motor assembly; wherein a screw shaft is mounted on the connecting seat, and a drive block is screwed on the screw shaft; a first rail is mounted between the pivotal seat and the connecting seat; a second rail is mounted between the connecting seat and the stretchable rack; the connecting rod assembly is disposed between the pivotal seat and the stretchable rack, and the drive block drives the connecting rod assembly to move forward or backward; the motor assembly comprises a motor and a gear set and serves to rotate the screw shaft.
 2. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stretchable rack and a footrest rack are disposed at a front end of a massage chair; at a front end of the stretchable rack are arranged a plurality of mounting members each of which is defined with a pivotal hole; the footrest rack is provided with a plurality of pivotal arms that are pivoted to the pivotal hole of the mounting members of the stretchable rack, and a swing angle of the respective pivotal arms is limited by the mounting members; and a spring is arranged between the stretchable rack and the footrest rack.
 3. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein a plurality of massage members are mounted on the footrest rack and the stretchable rack for massaging the user's lower limbs.
 4. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein the stretchable rack is provided at a front end thereof with two opposite mounting members each of which is defined with the pivotal hole, at either side of the pivotal hole are formed a first positioning protrusion and a second positioning protrusion that form an angle relative to the respective mounting members, and adjacent to the first positioning protrusion is arranged a first spring-mounting member; the footrest rack is provided at an end thereof with two pivotal arms that are pivoted to the pivotal hole of the mounting members of the stretchable rack, and the pivotal arms are confined between the first positioning protrusion and the second positioning protrusion of the mounting members, the pivotal arms are provided with a second spring-mounting member; the spring is arranged between the first spring-mounting member and the second spring-mounting member; and the plurality of massage members are mounted on the footrest rack and the stretchable rack for massaging the user's lower limbs.
 5. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivotal seat is pivotally connected to the front end of a massage chair and the first rail is arranged in a direction of the leg of the user, the pivotal seat is provided with a pivotal member that is located in a stretching direction of the massage chair, at a center of the pivotal seat is arranged a screw shaft, and both ends of the screw shaft are mounted to a bolt mounting member beneath the pivotal seat, the drive block is screwed on the screw shaft; the connecting seat is slideably mounted on the first rail, at a center of the connector seat is arranged a push rod, and the connecting seat is provided with a second rail that is located in a direction of the user's legs, the connecting seat is connected to an end of the drive block of the pivotal seat; the stretchable rack is slideably mounted on the second rail of the connecting seat, and on the stretchable rack are mounted massaging devices; and the connecting rod assembly comprises a driven rod and a leading rod, the leading rod is pivoted to the pivotal member of the pivotal seat, and on the driven rod is formed a slot for insertion of the push rod.
 6. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pivotal seat is pivotally connected to the front end of a massage chair and the first rail is arranged in a direction of the leg of the user, the pivotal seat is provided with a pivotal member that is located in a stretching direction of the massage chair, at a center of the pivotal seat is arranged a screw shaft, and both ends of the screw shaft are mounted to a bolt mounting member beneath the pivotal seat, the drive block is screwed on the screw shaft; the connecting seat is slideably mounted on the first rail, at a center of the connector seat is arranged a push rod, and the connecting seat is provided with a second rail that is located in a direction of the user's legs, the connecting seat is connected to an end of the drive block of the pivotal seat; the stretchable rack is slideably mounted on the second rail of the connecting seat, and on the stretchable rack are mounted massaging devices; and the connecting rod assembly comprises a driven rod and a leading rod, the leading rod is pivoted to the pivotal member of the pivotal seat, and on the driven rod is formed a slot for insertion of the push rod.
 7. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pivotal seat is pivotally connected to the front end of a massage chair and the first rail is arranged in a direction of the leg of the user, the pivotal seat is provided with a pivotal member that is located in a stretching direction of the massage chair, at a center of the pivotal seat is arranged a screw shaft, and both ends of the screw shaft are mounted to a bolt mounting member beneath the pivotal seat, the drive block is screwed on the screw shaft; the connecting seat is slideably mounted on the first rail, at a center of the connector seat is arranged a push rod, and the connecting seat is provided with a second rail that is located in a direction of the user's legs, the connecting seat is connected to an end of the drive block of the pivotal seat; the stretchable rack is slideably mounted on the second rail of the connecting seat, and on the stretchable rack are mounted massaging devices; and the connecting rod assembly comprises a driven rod and a leading rod, the leading rod is pivoted to the pivotal member of the pivotal seat, and on the driven rod is formed a slot for insertion of the push rod.
 8. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pivotal seat is pivotally connected to the front end of a massage chair and the first rail is arranged in a direction of the leg of the user, the pivotal seat is provided with a pivotal member that is located in a stretching direction of the massage chair, at a center of the pivotal seat is arranged a screw shaft, and both ends of the screw shaft are mounted to a bolt mounting member beneath the pivotal seat, the drive block is screwed on the screw shaft; the connecting seat is slideably mounted on the first rail, at a center of the connector seat is arranged a push rod, and the connecting seat is provided with a second rail that is located in a direction of the user's legs, the connecting seat is connected to an end of the drive block of the pivotal seat; the stretchable rack is slideably mounted on the second rail of the connecting seat, and on the stretchable rack are mounted massaging devices; and the connecting rod assembly comprises a driven rod and a leading rod, the leading rod is pivoted to the pivotal member of the pivotal seat, and on the driven rod is formed a slot for insertion of the push rod.
 9. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 5, wherein the connecting seat comprise a lateral shaft arranged at the front end thereof, and on the driven rod of the connecting rod assembly is formed the slot for insertion of the lateral shaft.
 10. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting seat comprise a lateral shaft arranged at the front end thereof, and on the driven rod of the connecting rod assembly is formed the slot for insertion of the lateral shaft.
 11. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 7, wherein the connecting seat comprise a lateral shaft arranged at the front end thereof, and on the driven rod of the connecting rod assembly is formed the slot for insertion of the lateral shaft.
 12. The footrest assembly for a massage chair as claimed in claim 8, wherein the connecting seat comprise a lateral shaft arranged at the front end thereof, and on the driven rod of the connecting rod assembly is formed the slot for insertion of the lateral shaft. 